Every Day A New Beginning......

Ahhhh, today seems to be a better day. Brock seemed to turn the corner last night around 5pm and he slept fairly well. This morning he was acting more like himself.
This afternoon is a scorcher! I am looking for any excuse not to do housework, so blogging sounded like a pretty good idea. :)
I went back through my pictures and thought I'd share.

July 4th, 2011. My ABC and their cousins on my side. Grandma & Grandpa McLouth have 14 grand kids! (and every 4th, g-ma gets the crew Old Navy flag shirts!) WOW!

Brock was such a big boy and was sitting on a bench, squeezed between his smiley sisters.

Who knew a small hill + a $7.99 purchase + water could = so much fun?!?!

Brock was fascinated by the feel of the sprinkles!

He was a little apprehensive of the water when combined with sliding......

Avery was all smiles, lovin' every minute!


One day, while Brock attended his summer school program, Jason and I took the girls to Build-a-Bear. Avery fell in love with "Shimmer Pink" kitty and even weeks later they are still inseparable!

Cora has a thing for monkeys, so she chose this character. Meet "Molly."

Amazingly we all were smiling when we left Build-a-Bear workshop. I had redeemed some cashback bonus from Discover card, so it made the purchase a little less painful! LOL. I'm still amazed by the pushy salespeople that were there. We let the girls choose a character, then the gal asked if they wanted sound? Of course, add $4 each without asking the paying parents first! After stuffing, we said Avery and Cora could select one outfit to dress their new friend. Ok, so then Cora asked: "Can we get shoes too???" I said: "Not today, maybe we can come back for your birthday." Salesperson: "Oh sweetie, did you see the matching slippers over there on the wall?" Seriously? I shot an evil glance in her direction and repeated that we were NOT getting anything else today. Grrr.
Life in sales. I suppose she was just doing her job, but I don't like it when someone puts kids against the parents.

The evening I got home from Brock's hospital stay, Avery and I took a walk around our flower gardens. She selected 3 "treasures."

Can you guess how much Avery likes PINK?? A daylily ('Chance Encounter'), pink Diascia, and a scarlet runner bean.

Here is the highlight of the summer. Yep, we joined the white trash of America and got an inflatable pool. HA!!! The box claimed "14 minutes to set up" but failed to mention 6 hours to fill. The girls kept asking "when is it ready?" Avery even has the dramatic hand gestures in this photo. :)

Ok, so I gave in and let them "swim" as the pool was filling.....might as well enjoy from start to finish!

The next day it was even more fun! At 12' x 33", it is just the right size for my kiddos.

They LOVE it! And with a week of 90+ degree weather, the timing of our purchase has been perfect!

This morning was extra special because Brock was feeling better and he got to check out all the fun. He giggled and splashed with his sisters. We went out before it got too hot---this pic was @ 9am this morning, and now @ 1:30pm in the shade it is 95.....
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I think we are doing a good job of checking off the girls' summer-fun-list, with the exception of Fun City (a water park in Burlington, IA.) I said, who needs to go to Fun City when we have a pool? "AWE MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!" is all I heard in response. ;)

Here's to Brock getting back on track so he can have many good days to come.
Until next time.........